Disney Where's My Valentine?

It's hard to believe there's a regular mobile gamer who hasn't at least dipped into Disney's excellent Where's My Water? and Where's My Perry? games before, but for those of you who've yet to sample the delights of these physics puzzles, a re-released Where's My Valentine? has just popped up on the App Store.

This Valentine's edition of the popular series is split into two different components - six levels starring the original Swampy, and another six featuring the antics of Perry from the animated series Phineas and Ferb. It's a brief experience, then, but it's perhaps the best introduction to the fully-fledged games you can get your hands on.

In Swampy's levels, you'll have to carefully dig tunnels through the dirt to allow water to flow towards his shower where the filthy alligator awaits. Here you can expect dirt-shaped into hearts, and similarly shaped mechanical contraptions that slide into position as you spray water onto levers. It's a surprisingly steep learning curve if you've never played the game before, but it does at least introduce you to the potential complexity of the full game well.

Once you're done with Swampy's collection of levels, it's time to pay Perry a visit. Here you'll have to carefully move contraptions around the screen to aid the flow of water, fire laser beams at water pools to have them turn into pressurized steam, and then deliver enough water to Perry's pod so that it can activate and send him hurtling downwards towards yet another level. Again, a steep learning curve awaits newcomers.

As a Valentine-themed game, rather than an - admittedly very effective - marketing excercise, there's not a whole lotta love going on in Where's My Valentine? Apart from a few heart-shaped constructions it's very much business as usual, but we have to take our hats off to the designers for creating a game that's not afraid to dive straight into the complexity of the series, while at the same time making a further purchase very tempting indeed.

While the Valentine's connection to this mini-collection may be rather tenuous - and the experience is certainly brief - those who've never sampled the delights of Where's My Water? before may find that this taster pot prompts an irresistable purchase. For those who have somehow managed to burn through the hundreds of levels released for the full versions, it's a slice of extra content for the price of nothing.